Sisters
by Gemma Leigh S
Summary: What would happen if Emma had even more family than in the show? Would the curse be broken earlier? Would it be broken at all?
1. A Discovery (Or Two)

Everything belongs to Once Upon A Time except for a couple of the ideas and two characters. Dialogue is a mix of theirs and mine.

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It all started one day when a little boy knocked on my door. It was my birthday and I'd just wished that I wasn't alone on my birthday. I opened the door, and at first I didn't see anyone but then I noticed a kid, looking completely confused.

"Eva! What are you doing here? I saw you this morning and you never said you were leaving!" The kid said.

"What are you talking about? My name's Emma." I replied.

"You're Emma Swan?!" He asks awed and happy, if still looking slightly confused.

"Yeah, who are you?" I asked, confused as to how the kid knew my name, especially since a minute ago he thought I was someone named Eva.

"My name's Henry and I'm your son." He said confidently and walked into the apartment.

"Whoa. Hey, kid. Kid. Kid! I don't have a son. Where are your parents?" I replied, aiming for the same amount of confidence even as my brain was finding similarities between him and Neal, even between him and me.

"Ten years ago, did you give a baby up for adoption? That was me." I was really worried now, there's no way he could know that, not unless he was my kid because I didn't think random ten year olds looked at adoption records that were supposed to be sealed trying to find ways to scare some kid's birth mother out of their wits.

"Give me a minute." I said, walking straight into the bathroom, trying to recover.

"Hey, you have any juice?" I hear the kid yell. "Never mind. Found some." Follows a minute later.

I walk out to find him drinking the juice, straight from the bottle. He sighs. "You know, we should probably get going."

"Going where?" I ask, no longer having any idea what to do.

"I want you to come home with me." He replies with a smile.

"Okay, kid. I'm calling the cops." I say, desperately trying to gain control of the situation.

"Then I'll tell them you kidnapped me." He says.

"And they'll believe you because I'm your birth mother." I reply.

"Yep." He says with a smirk.

"You're not gonna do that." I say, testing him."

"Try me." He says.

"You're pretty good, but here's the thing. There's not a lot I'm great at in life, but I have one skill. Let's call it a superpower. I can tell when anyone is lying, and you, kid, are." It's at times like these where I'm extremely thankful for my superpower.

"Wait. Please don't call the cops. Please. Come home with me." He says, a little desperately.

"Where's home?" I say. "Storybrooke, Maine." He replies, and some of that glimmer of hope comes back into his eyes. "Storybrooke? Seriously?" Because really, what place is called Storybrooke.

"Mm-hmm."

I sigh. "All righty then. Let's get you back to Storybrooke."

"I'm hungry, do you want to stop somewhere?" He asks, after we've been in the car a while.

"This is not a road trip. We're not stopping for snacks." I say, because I know I cannot let myself get attached to this kid, or let him get attached to me, not when he has his own family.

"Why not?" He asks, curiously.

"Quit complaining, kid." I say, avoiding the question because I know I can't tell him the real reason. "Remember, I could have put your butt on a bus. I still could." I try and change the topic.

"You know, I have a name. It's Henry." He says, which I know perfectly well. As if I would've forgotten his name. I just couldn't use it, because with names comes nicknames and that shows attachment which I couldn't let happen.

"Speaking of names, why did you think my name was Eva? Especially after you definitely knew who I was once I gave you my real name." It had been on my mind for most of the car ride but I hadn't known how to bring it up.

"I just wasn't expecting to know my mom's identical twin." "What? Who? I don't have a twin!" I exclaim, I wasn't ready for two life-changing discoveries in one day. "Use your superpower. See if I'm lying." He says with a grin.

"Just because you believe something doesn't make it true. Lots of people look alike, or maybe she's just my doppelgänger." I dismissed, trying to convince myself for the second time that day that he was lying.

"What's a doppelgänger? Never mind, trust me, she's your twin."

His confidence sent my overwhelm into a full-blown freak-out. If she really was my twin, why weren't we found together, we should've gone through the system together. Then, another terrifying thought came over me. Was I given up and her kept because our parents didn't want twins, did she have the life I'd always dreamed of, the perfect family? I finally managed to calm myself down with a confusing question that distracted me, why was she in Storybrooke and how did Henry know her? I looked over at him, he was staring intensely at what looked like an old storybook.

"What's that?" I asked.

"I'm not sure you're ready." He replied, as if I wasn't confused enough.

"Ready for some fairy tales?" I ask him, jokingly.

"They're not fairy tales. They're true. Every story in this book actually happened." He replies, looking completely serious.

"Of course it did." I reply a little sarcastically because I figured that agreeing was probably my best option.

"Use your superpower. See if I'm lying." Apparently, at age ten you can see through sarcasm. Though, apparently he didn't have the best memory since I'd just told him that when you believe something's true I can't tell if you're lying.

"I know you said earlier that believing that something's true doesn't make it true but that's exactly what makes it true. You should know more than anyone."

"Why is that?" I ask since I personally think I could win an award for least amount of hope and belief.

"Because you're in this book." He tells me, and now I'm starting to get worried, at age ten are kids supposed to believe that they're related to fairy tale characters.

"Oh, kid. You've got problems." I end up saying, since I really have no idea what else would be better.

"Yep, and you're gonna fix 'em." It's actually terrifying how much he believes in me. We roll into Storybrooke.

"Okay, kid. How about an address?" I ask, not wanting him to have a chance to spring some other life-changing revelation on me.

"44 I'm-not-telling-you Street" He replies, annoyingly.

"Look, it's been a long night, and it's almost… 8:15?" I question, getting out of the car and looking at the clock tower and I get confused once again.

"That clock hasn't moved in my whole life. Time's frozen here." He says and I start to worry again, I'd nearly forgotten about the stupid fairy tale thing.

"Excuse me?" I say, trying to act confused which wasn't hard.

"The Evil Queen did it with her curse. She sent everyone from the Enchanted Forest here." He explains I decide to play along.

"Hang on. An evil queen sent a bunch of fairy tale characters here?" I ask.

"Yeah, and now they're trapped." He actually seems kind've sad for them.

"Frozen in time and stuck in Storybrooke, Maine - that's what you're going with?" I decide to make it clear that I don't believe him.

"It's true."

"Then why doesn't everybody just leave?" I'm curious to see what his answer for that is.

"They can't. If they try bad things happen."

"Henry. What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" I hear a stranger's voice say.

"I'm fine, Archie." Henry replies, clearly he knows the man, and his dog.

"Who is this?" Archie asks, looking at me.

"Just someone trying to give him a ride home." I explain, not wanting to get into the details with a man I just met.

"Oh, she's my mom, Archie." Henry just has to explain.

"Oh, I see." He replies looking all of a sudden really interested. It's starting to get awkward.

"Do you know where he lives?" I ask the man, Archie.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Just, uh, right up on Mifflin Street. The mayor's house is the biggest one on the block." He says.

"You're the mayor's kid? I ask turning to Henry.

"Uh, maybe." He replies staring at the ground.

"Hey, where were you today, Henry? 'Cause you missed our session." Archie suddenly asks.

"Oh, well, I forgot to tell you, I went on a field trip." This time, Henry's attempt to lie is really clear. Archie kneels down.

"Henry… What did I tell you about lying? Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything." That's why you need to become a better liar, I think to myself.

"Okay. Well, I really should be getting him home." I reply wanting to get out of this town as soon as possible. "Yeah, sure. Well, listen, um, have a good night, and, uh, you be good, Henry."

"Yeah." I say, glad to see him go, the less interactions, the less people to ask Henry who I was.

"So that's your shrink?" I ask Henry since it was incredibly obvious.

"I'm not crazy." He replies.

"Didn't say that. Just… he doesn't seem cursed to me. Maybe he's just trying to help you." I say, distracting him with a topic change.

"He's the one who needs help, because he doesn't know."

"That he's a fairy tale character?" I ask, trying to follow along.

"None of them do. They don't remember who they are." I sigh.

"Convenient. All right. I'll play. Who's he supposed to be?"

"Jiminy Cricket."

"Right. The lying thing. I thought your nose grew a little bit." I say, proving how much I know about fairy tales.

"I'm not Pinocchio." He replies, indignant.

"Of course you're not, 'cause that would be ridiculous." I say, giving up and getting into the car.

"Please don't take me back there." He says, like I have a choice.

"I have to. I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you." Wondering what that would've been like.

"I don't have parents - just a mom and she's evil."

"Evil? That's a bit extreme isn't it?"

"She is. She doesn't love me. She only pretends to." I feel bad, even though I'm sure it's not true, it's not good that he feels this way. I sigh.

"Kid. I'm sure that's not true, now go ahead, I'm sure your mom doesn't want to see me now, after you left her, to come find me. Though, don't think I'm not watching to make sure you go in there." He sighs.

"Fine, bye." He closes the door, I didn't tell him that the real reason I didn't go in was because I didn't want a reasonable adult telling me that I have an identical twin.

I watched as Henry's mom came out, looking worried and so relieved to see him. What was Henry talking about? His mom definitely loved him. I got back into my car and headed back home, right at the town line I changed my mind. I needed to check and make sure that my twin didn't exist. I walked through the bushes into Granny's Bed & Breakfast.

"You're out all night, and now you're going out again."

"I should've moved to Boston!"

"I'm sorry that my heart attack interfered with your plans to sleep your way down the Eastern Seaboard."

Two women are in the middle of an argument. I interrupt them.

"Excuse me? I'd like a room."

"Really? Would you like a forest view or a square view? Normally, there's an upgrade fee for the square, but as rent is due, I'll waive it."

The older woman, probably Granny, looks surprised and I wonder how many visitors they have.

"Square is fine." I reply with a small smile.

"Now… what's the name?"

"Swan. Emma Swan."

"Emma. What a lovely name." I hear yet another voice behind me.

"Thanks." I say. The older lady leans over the desk with a wad of cash and gives it to the man.

"It's all here." She says.

"Yes, yes, of course. Yes, dear, thank you. You enjoy your stay… Emma." I decide that he's rather creepy.

"Who's that?" I ask the older lady.

"Mr. Gold. He owns the place." The younger girl replies from behind me while staring out the window.

"The inn?" I ask.

"No. The town." The older woman says. I can't wait to confirm that I don't have an identical twin and get out of here. The whole town is starting to creep me out.

"So how long will you be with us?" The older woman continues.

"A week. Just a week."

"Great. Welcome to Storybrooke." She hands me a key.


	2. Meeting my Child's Mother

**Disclaimer at the beginning of the story.**

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Waking up in the morning I was surprised to see that I was in a bed and breakfast, then I remembered my insane night before. First off I decided to go the inn, and get some breakfast, after all, all the world's problems seem less when you have a full stomach. I actually managed to nearly forget about some of them until Regina walked in. She looked around for a minute then turned to Granny. "Where's my son? He always is waiting for me here so that we can eat breakfast and then I walk him to school."

"Sorry Madam Mayor, I haven't seen your son since yesterday." Granny says. Regina's about to storm out the door when she notices me.

"Who are you?"

"My name's Emma-"

"You're the woman that gave him up, aren't you?! Where is he now?!"

"Nice to meet you too, and I have no idea, after dropping him off at your place I came straight here."

"Well, he probably went looking for you so you better help me find him."

"Did you check his friends?"

"He doesn't really have any. He's kind of a loner."

"Every kid has friends. Did you check his computer? If he's close to someone, he'd be emailing them."

"And you know this how?" Everyone at Granny's was now not-so-discreetly eavesdropping on our conversation.

"Finding people is what I do. Fine, you know what, let's go and I'll help you find him." Once we got to Henry's room I opened up the computer.

"Smart kid. He cleared his inbox." I sigh. "I'm smart, too. A little hard disk recovery utility I like to use."

"I'm a little more old-fashioned in my techniques—pounding the pavement, knocking on doors, that sort of thing." Graham comments while I'm getting access to Henry's emails.

I sigh again. "You're on salary. I get paid for delivery. Pounding the pavement is not a luxury that I get. Huh. There's a receipt for a website— . It's expensive. He has a credit card?"

"He's 10." Regina replies.

"Well, he used one. Let's pull up a transaction record. Mary Margaret Blanchard. Who's Mary Margaret Blanchard?"

"Henry's teacher." Regina replies.

As we walk down the hallway to Henry's class, we can hear her voice.

"As we build our birdhouses, remember, what you're making is a home, not a cage. The bird is free and will do what it will. This is for them, not us. They're loyal creatures. If you love them and they love you, they will always find you." The school bell rings. "We'll pick this up after recess. No running."

Regina strides in and the teacher looks nervous. I notice she's also really pregnant.

"Ms. Mills, what are you doing here?"

"Where's my son?"

"Henry? I assumed he was home sick with you."

"You think I'd be here if he was?" I decide there will be no good time to walk in, so I do.

"Did you give him your credit card so he could find her?" She says to the teacher, looking at me.

"I'm sorry. Who are you?" The teacher says to me.

"I'm his… I'm his…" I don't know what to say that will make Regina not murder me on the spot.

"The woman who gave him up for adoption." Regina fills in. Understanding dawns on the teacher's face then she sighs and then checks her wallet.

"You don't know anything about this, do you?" I realize.

"No, unfortunately not." "Clever boy." She says after realizing that Henry stole her credit card, not the reaction I'd normally expect. "I should never have given him that book."

"What book are you talking about?" Regina asks.

"Just some old stories I gave him. As you well know, Henry is a special boy— so smart, so creative, and as you might be aware… lonely. He needed it."

"What he needs is a dose of reality. This is a waste of time." She knocks some books over on the way out. "Have a nice trip back to Boston."

"Sorry to bother you." I say to Mary Margaret, picking up the books, after Regina just stormed out I figured I needed to figure out what's up.

"No, it's… it's okay. I fear this is partially my fault."

"How's a book supposed to help?"

"What do you think stories are for? These stories…the classics? There's a reason we all know them. They're a way for us to deal with our world, a world that doesn't always make sense. See, Henry hasn't had the easiest life."

"Yeah, she's kind of a hard-ass."

"No, it's more than her. He's like any adopted child. He wrestles with that most basic question they all inevitably face—'Why would anyone give me away?' I am so sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean in any way to judge you."

"It's okay." I say because, what else can I say. She looks confused for a minute, catching a better look at my face and looks like she's about to say something and I have a sinking feeling I know what, then she changes her mind.

"Look, I gave the book to him because I wanted Henry to have the most important thing anyone can have…hope. Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing." Suddenly I have a feeling.

"You know where he is, don't you?"

"You might want to check his castle."

"You left this in my car." I told Henry, handing him the storybook, we were sitting in a wood castle on the beach. He's looking toward the town clock. "Still hasn't moved, huh?"

"I was hoping that when I brought you back, things would change here, that the final battle would begin."

"I'm not fighting any battles, kid."

"Yes, you are. You're here because it's your destiny. You're gonna bring back the happy endings."

"Can you cut it with the book crap?"

"You don't have to be hostile. I know you like me. I can tell. You're just pushing me away because I make you fell guilty. It's okay. I know why you gave me away. You wanted to give me my best chance."

"How do you know that?" I ask, shaken to the core.

"It's the same reason Snow White gave you away."

"Listen to me, kid. I am not in any book. I'm a real person. And I'm no saviour. You were right about one thing, though. I wanted you to have your best chance. But it's not with me. Come on. Let's go." At this point, I'm actually crying.

"Please don't take me back there. Please."

"I have to get you back to your mom."

"You don't know what it's like with her. My life sucks."

"Oh, you want to know what sucking, is? Being left abandoned on the side of a freeway. My parents didn't even bother to drop me off at a hospital. I ended up in the foster system and I had a family until I was 3, but then they had their own kid, so they sent me back." I sigh. "Look… your mom is trying her best. I know it's hard, and I know sometimes you think she doesn't love you, but at least she wants you."

"Your parents didn't leave you on the side of the freeway. That's just where you came through."

"What?"

"The wardrobe, when you went through the wardrobe, you appeared in the street. Your parents were trying to save you from the curse."

"Sure they were." I laugh sadly. "Come on, Henry." I look at him and realize he was crying too.

When we get to Regina's she opens the door and Henry runs straight past her. She looks after him for a second then turns to me.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

"He seemed to have taken quite a shine to you."

I laugh a little. "You know what's kinda crazy? Yesterday was my birthday, and when I blew out the candle on this cupcake I bought myself, I actually made a wish that I didn't have to be alone on my birthday. And then Henry showed up."

"I hope there's no misunderstanding here."

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't mistake all this as an invitation back into his life."

"Oh."

"Ms. Swan, you made a decision ten years ago. And in the last decade, while you've been… well, who knows what you've been doing? I've changed every diaper, soothed every fever, endured every tantrum. You may have given birth to him, but he is my son."

"I was not—"

"No, you don't get to speak, you don't get to do anything. You gave up that right when you tossed him away. Do you know what a closed adoption is? It's what you asked for. You have no legal right to Henry, and you're gonna be held to that. So I suggest you get in your car and you leave this town, because if you don't, I will destroy you if it is the last thing I do. Good-bye, Ms. Swan."

After that major, over the top declaration I have one question, time for the lie detector. "Do you love him?"

"Excuse me?"

"Henry. Do you love him?"

"Of course I love him."

At least she was honest, disdainful, sure, and I still didn't trust her in the slightest, but she did love Henry.

I walked into Granny's for lunch, I was starving. When I walked in, Ruby ran up to me, "I was right, I didn't really notice last night and this morning I wanted to check with Granny before I told you, I mean it should be impossible…" She rambled on.

"What?" I interrupted, the morning had wore down my patience.

"You look exactly like another person around here, her name's Eva. She works at the local martial arts centre. Henry goes there all the time, I'm surprised he never mentioned her to you."

I sigh. "He mentioned her."

Ruby hands me a bag with what I assume is my grilled cheese in it, and insisted I go straight to the martial arts centre.

Once I got there, it was easy to spot who Eva was, she looked exactly like me. We met eyes. "Class is over, see you next week." She yelled out and came running over to me.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Emma, I take it you're Eva."

"Yeah, I am, but how do you look exactly like me?"

"I have no idea, are your free right now?"

"Sure." "I'll be back!" She yells at the other staff at the martial arts centre.

She takes me to a cool spot in the forest. I get out the bag with my food in it and realize it has two grilled cheeses. Ruby was good. I hand one to her.

"So, what are the possibilities that we're twins?" Eva asks.

"I have no idea, I suppose considering we look the exact same, pretty high. Were you raised by your biological parents?"

"No, I was adopted, I was found on the road here in Storybrooke when I was a newborn and I was taken in by these people that were nice enough though I think I was forced on them because they didn't like children. They died when I was 10 and I had to live on the streets pretending I still had a family. They weren't well-liked so no one really noticed when they died, it wasn't too hard to keep up my cover. The only thing I have is a blanket that I was found wrapped in, it had my name sewn in ribbon in the corner."

"That practically confirms it, I have the same blanket, only mine says Emma in the corner, it's the only thing I have from when I was found on the side of the freeway. I wonder why we weren't put together, why we were found in different places. I can't believe we didn't grow up with each other, a twin would've made my life so much better, could our bio parents not have given us at least that?"

"I know, right, anyway, first I'd like to make it official, want to go to the hospital for a DNA test?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah, unless you can think of a better time?"

"No, I can't. Let's go."

When we got there, the doctor, Doctor Whale sent us in a room for a cheek swab. He said that since we're most likely identical twins, the results would be incredibly quick. We'd find out by tonight.

Leaving, I asked her where she lived, figuring we could figure the rest out there. Weirdly, she was staying at Granny's too but she had a deal with Granny that she pays yearly rent since nothing in Storybrooke ever comes up for rent. We chatted that whole afternoon, sharing stories, finding similarities, I realized that even if it turned out that we were just doppelgängers with strange similarities that we would stay friends. Just then, the phone rang. Eva looked at me.

"It's the hospital."

She answers it and puts it on speaker.

"Eva?"

"We're both here. You're on speaker." She replies.

"Well, I hope this is good news, you are identical twins!"

* * *

 **I have no idea how DNA tests actually work and I'm sure they're not this fast but they needed to be for this story.**


End file.
